Pilot studies show evidence-based policing can cut crime levels, but real success requires translating new approaches into daily practice. To tackle the crisis, law enforcement agencies are increasingly turning to evidence-based policing (EBP) approaches. Policing scholars increasingly argue that measuring success should not only involve demonstrating that a strategy works, but showing that it can be integrated into routine operations. Remove adsFollowing the success of the hotspots policing pilots, South Africa is tentatively entering a second generation of EBP research and implementation. By measuring South Africa’s position in the process rather than just focusing on the destination, the country is on an early yet sound path to adopting, refining and embedding evidence-based policing.